I had to laugh last night while I was in the process of making Christmas cookies.
First of all, my kitchen (and my house) is small so it’s a challenge to move all the normal things on the kitchen counters off so you have room to do things like roll out and decorate cookies. Plus finding space to set up the cooling racks. I’m not complaining, but it really can be a bit nerve racking to find somewhere to go with everything, sometimes for a few days while you make mounds of cookies!
And this year we have the puppy so I can’t put the crock full of cooking utensils over in the corner on the floor, unless I want to find them all over the house with bite marks in them!
When I was growing up (and even now), my mother never decorated a cookie with icing like you see in the magazines. She grew up on a farm and there simply wasn’t money or time for such things. Plus, my mother is not really crafty so she had no interest in even trying.
My girls and I tried once or twice when they were little, but I found that not only did they never look like the store-bought ones or the ones in magazines, but once you stored them stacked in a container (even with waxed paper between), they just didn’t look the same and it was a big disappointment. Growing up we just simply used sprinkles and that’s the way I choose to make them too. Nice and simple.
So today I had rolled out, cut out, and decorated the cookies with sprinkles and I was so excited because I LOVE cut out sugar cookies, when I took a moment to survey my creations as I was putting them in the oven, and I had to chuckle.
Here were these simple cut-out cookies, made from my beloved grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe, sitting among the mess of excess sprinkles strewn all over my scratched up cookie sheets, in my little kitchen that was a wreck, and I couldn’t be happier or more excited! It didn’t matter that they didn’t look like the cookies on Pinterest, or that I’ve had my cookie sheets for years and they were scratched up. Who cares?!
I love my grandmother’s Christmas cookies, I love my little house, I love ALL our animals, I love ALL my family and I love Jesus!
And I am GRATEFUL and CONTENT!
During this busy holiday season, don’t forget to wish someone a Merry Christmas, and be grateful for ALL the little things you have!
